Celebrate the work of Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki) at a community reception followed by a special onstage conversation with Danis Goulet (Cree-Métis). Spanning more than 50 films, Obomsawin’s collective body of work has transformed documentary cinema by making Indigenous stories visible and creating new Indigenous futures. Reaching across her lifelong work as an impassioned artist, the dialogue will explore how Obomsawin has used her position as an artist and filmmaker to transform the lives of Indigenous peoples.
Goulet, who has called Obomsawin “the grandmother of Indigenous film,” cites Obomsawin as one of her influences. An independent director whose debut feature film, Night Raiders, screened at the Walker in 2022, Goulet has recently directed several episodes of the series Reservation Dogs. She has also championed Obomsawin’s films through her work at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Program Schedule
6 pm: Community Reception
Enjoy regional small bites and refreshments by Alexis Holland and Joe Wade (Bad River), Indigenous educators and chefs dedicated to the food sovereignty movement and uplifting their communities one bite and one seed at a time.
7 pm: Dialogue in the Cinema
Free tickets available at 5 pm from the Main Lobby desk. Show your interest via this form.
The conversation will include a screening of Obomsawin’s first film, Christmas at Moose Factory (1971, 13 min.), filmed at a residential school in northern Ontario and composed entirely of drawings and stories by young Cree children.
This event will be recorded by MIGIZI’s First Person Productions.
Accessibility and Content Notes
This program will have ASL interpretation.
Content note: The short film Christmas at Moose Factory was made at a residential school in Northern Ontario in 1971. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, based in Minneapolis, provides a resource list for trauma responses. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition leads in the pursuit of understanding and addressing the ongoing trauma created by the US Indian Boarding School policy. More info at boardingschoolhealing.org.
For information about accessibility or to request additional accommodations for this program, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
For more information about accessibility at the Walker, visit our Access page.
Bios
Danis Goulet (b. 1977) is a Cree-Métis writer and director originally from Northern Saskatchewan in Canada. Her debut feature Night Raiders (2021) premiered at the Berlinale and was selected as a Gala Presentation of the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021. Goulet’s feature and her earlier short films, Wakening (2013) and Barefoot (2012), have screened at festivals around the world, including Sundance, Berlin, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Goulet has recently directed several episodes for the Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi–created series Reservation Dogs. She is a former director of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, an alumna of the National Screen Institute and the TIFF Filmmaker Lab, and a current member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Goulet currently lives in Toronto.
Alexis Holland is the founder of Living by Intention. As a lifestyle educator and cook, she emphasizes the power of generational healing by returning to our traditional Indigenous practices centered around food, engaging with nature, spirituality, creativity, cultural traditions, and more. Many people in her family have suffered and died from heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses related to the colonization and violent assimilation of her ancestors. This is what drives her discipline and passion to bring her community back to what we have always known: a healthy lifestyle that brings out the full potential in all of us—one in which we are fully aligned with the gifts that nature provides.
Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki, b. 1932, near Lebanon, New Hampshire) is one of Canada’s most distinguished documentary filmmakers. She began her career as a professional singer and storyteller before joining the National Film Board in 1967. Her award-winning films address the struggles of Indigenous peoples in Canada from their perspective, giving prominence to voices that have long been ignored or dismissed. A Companion of the Order of Canada and a Grand Officer of the Ordre national du Québec, she has received the Prix Albert-Tessier and the Canadian Screen Awards’ Humanitarian Award, as well as multiple Governor General’s Awards, lifetime achievement awards, and honorary degrees.
Joe Wade is a chef and wild ricer from the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He grew up fishing and developed a love for the land and the food he could hunt and gather with his family. He began his cooking career at his tribal casino and has since cooked in a large variety of restaurants. From the neighborhood favorite to working at famous restaurants such as Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen and the James Beard award–winning Owamni by Sean Sherman, Wade’s experience is vast and it shows. He’s here to represent Bad River and all the foods that are Indigenous to this region.
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